A radiation measuring instrument is seen next to some residents in Kawauchimura, a village within the 12- to 18-mile zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, on April 28. Most residents of Kawauchimura have evacuated in order to avoid the radiation, but some remain in the area of their own accord.
(Koichi Kamoshida / EPA)
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A brazier heats the house of Masahiro Kazami, located within a 12-mile radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, April 28.
(Koichi Kamoshida / EPA)
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Volunteers help clean a cemetery at Jionin temple in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 29. Many volunteers poured into the disaster-hit region at the beginning of the annual Golden Week holiday.
(Hiro Komae / AP)
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Japanese government adviser Toshiso Kosako is overcome with emotion during a news conference on April 29 in Tokyo announcing his resignation. The expert on radiation exposure said he could not stay on the job and allow the government to set what he called improper radiation limits for elementary schools in areas near the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.
(AP)
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Farmer Tsugio Sato tends to his Japanese pear trees in Fukushima city, May 1. He said he expects to harvest the pears in October. Farmers and businesses face so-called "fuhyo higai," or damages stemming from the battered reputation of the Fukushima brand.
(Hiro Komae / AP)
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Members of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in protective gear receive radiation screening in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture, after searching for bodies at an area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
(Reuters)
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Ruriko Sakuma, daughter of dairy farmer Shinji Sakuma, rubs a cow at their farm in the village of Katsurao in Fukushima prefecture on May 3. Thousands of farm animals died of hunger in the weeks following the quake.
(Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP - Getty Images)
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Video: In Japan, radiation level in sea water raises fears

>>>from
japan
, troubling news from the earthquake zone where workers are struggling to cool the damaged fukushima daiichi
power plant
. high radiation levels found in seawater near the plant two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami struck. nbc's lee cowan has our story.

>> reporter: with so much talk of the spike in radiation levels, the other spike in the death toll is sometimes lost. but it continues unabated. it is fast approaching 11,000 with nearly 18,000 still missing. at the fukushima
nuclear power plant
the u.s. is shipping in hundreds of thousands of gallons of freshwater to help cool the reactors. a better alternative engineers say than injecting
salt water
. but all of it has to drain somewhere and the government now says it may have made its way back out to sea. radiation readings in water near shore have registered 1,000 times greater than normal. japanese officials though are quick to point out that it is still within safe limits. but were angered by news that the plant's owner tepco knew radioactive water was gathering in one of the reactors but didn't disclose it until after three workers were exposed. sending two to the hospital. tepco apologized. it is that kind of revelation though that prompted
japan
's prime minister to warn that it is no time to be optimistic, not yet. a sobering assessment as millions struggled to get back to some semblance of normal. there is a phrase here in
japan
[ speak
foreign language
] it means what can you do. we hear it time and time again,
over and over
again. despite the circumstances live goes on. and it is. there were weddings today. at a shrine under
brilliant blue
skies with barely a cloud. at least not the kind you can see. a steady stream of people came to pray, new parents brought children to be blessed, this couple, a boy. just
7 weeks
owed. you have to act accordingly and stay calm this young father says. i am call am. my wife isn't. although many of life's happy rituals, college graduations have been canceled. these two students weren't going to be deterred. they donned their graduation kimonos, next to the shrine the customary collection of wooden plaques inscribed with wishes, pray for
japan
this one read, which to many on this brilliant day, were three words that said it all. lee cowan, nbc

A look at the worst earthquakes in recorded history, in loss of human life. (The March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsumani that affected eastern Japan is not included because the fatalities caused, about 15,000, are fewer than those resulting from the temblors listed below.) Sources: United States Geological Survey, Encyclopedia Britannica

1: Shensi, China, Jan. 23, 1556

Magnitude about 8, about 830,000 deaths.

This earthquake occurred in the Shaanxi province (formerly Shensi), China, about 50 miles east-northeast of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi. More than 830,000 people are estimated to have been killed. Damage extended as far away as about 270 miles northeast of the epicenter, with reports as far as Liuyang in Hunan, more than 500 miles away. Geological effects reported with this earthquake included ground fissures, uplift, subsidence, liquefaction and landslides. Most towns in the damage area reported city walls collapsed, most to all houses collapsed and many of the towns reported ground fissures with water gushing out.

1976: Workers start rebuilding work following earthquake damage in the Chinese city of Tangshan, 100 miles east of Pekin, with a wrecked train carriage behind them. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Magnitude 7.5. Official casualty figure is 255,000 deaths. Estimated death toll as high as 655,000.

Damage extended as far as Beijing. This is probably the greatest death toll from an earthquake in the last four centuries, and the second greatest in recorded history.

3: Aleppo, Syria, Aug. 9, 1138

Magnitude not known, about 230,000 deaths.

Contemporary accounts said the walls of Syria’s second-largest city crumbled and rocks cascaded into the streets. Aleppo’s citadel collapsed, killing hundreds of residents. Although Aleppo was the largest community affected by the earthquake, it likely did not suffer the worst of the damage. European Crusaders had constructed a citadel at nearby Harim, which was leveled by the quake. A Muslim fort at Al-Atarib was destroyed as well, and several smaller towns and manned forts were reduced to rubble. The quake was said to have been felt as far away as Damascus, about 220 miles to the south. The Aleppo earthquake was the first of several occurring between 1138 and 1139 that devastated areas in northern Syria and western Turkey.

4: Sumatra, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2004

Getty Images
/
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MEULABOH, INDONESIA - DECEMBER 29: In this handout photo taken from a print via the Indonesian Air Force, the scene of devastation in Meulaboh, the town closest to the Sunday's earthquake epicentre, is pictured from the air on December 29, 2004, Meulaboh, Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The western coastal town in Aceh Province, only 60 kilometres north-east of the epicentre, has been the hardest hit by sunday's underwater earthquake in the Indian Ocean. Officials expected to find at least 10,000 killed which would amount to a quarter of Meulaboh's population. Three-quarters of Sumatra's western coast was destroyed and some towns were totally wiped out after the tsunamis that followed the earthquake. (Photo by Indonesian Air Force via Getty Images)

Magnitude 9.1, 227,898 deaths.

This was the third largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and the largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska temblor. In total, 227,898 people were killed or were missing and presumed dead and about 1.7 million people were displaced by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 14 countries in South Asia and East Africa. (In January 2005, the death toll was 286,000. In April 2005, Indonesia reduced its estimate for the number missing by over 50,000.)

Magnitude 7.0. According to official estimates, 222,570 people killed.

According to official estimates, 300,000 were also injured, 1.3 million displaced, 97,294 houses destroyed and 188,383 damaged in the Port-au-Prince area and in much of southern Haiti. This includes at least 4 people killed by a local tsunami in the Petit Paradis area near Leogane. Tsunami waves were also reported at Jacmel, Les Cayes, Petit Goave, Leogane, Luly and Anse a Galets.

6: Damghan, Iran, Dec. 22, 856

Magnitude not known, about 200,000 deaths.

This earthquake struck a 200-mile stretch of northeast Iran, with the epicenter directly below the city of Demghan, which was at that point the capital city. Most of the city was destroyed as well as the neighboring areas. Approximately 200,000 people were killed.

7: Haiyuan, Ningxia , China, Dec. 16, 1920

7.8 magnitude, about 200,000 deaths.

This earthquake brought total destruction to the Lijunbu-Haiyuan-Ganyanchi area. Over 73,000 people were killed in Haiyuan County. A landslide buried the village of Sujiahe in Xiji County. More than 30,000 people were killed in Guyuan County. Nearly all the houses collapsed in the cities of Longde and Huining. About 125 miles of surface faulting was seen from Lijunbu through Ganyanchi to Jingtai. There were large numbers of landslides and ground cracks throughout the epicentral area. Some rivers were dammed, others changed course.

The memories of the massive Damghan earthquake (see above) had barely faded when only 37 years later, Iran was again hit by a huge earthquake. This time it cost 150,000 lives and destroyed the largest city in the northwestern section of the country. The area was again hit by a fatal earthquake in 1997.

9: Kanto, Japan, Sept. 1, 1923

Hulton Archive
/
Getty Images

1923: High-angle view of earthquake and fire damage on Hongokucho Street and the Kanda District, taken from the Yamaguchi Bank building after the Kanto earthquake, Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

7.9 magnitude, 142,800 deaths.

This earthquake brought extreme destruction in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, both from the temblor and subsequent firestorms, which burned about 381,000 of the more than 694,000 houses that were partially or completely destroyed. Although often known as the Great Tokyo Earthquake (or the Great Tokyo Fire), the damage was most severe in Yokohama. Nearly 6 feet of permanent uplift was observed on the north shore of Sagami Bay and horizontal displacements of as much as 15 feet were measured on the Boso Peninsula.

10: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 5, 1948

7.3 magnitude, 110,000 deaths.

This quake brought extreme damage in Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) and nearby villages, where almost all the brick buildings collapsed, concrete structures were heavily damaged and freight trains were derailed. Damage and casualties also occurred in the Darreh Gaz area in neighboring Iran. Surface rupture was observed both northwest and southeast of Ashgabat. Many sources list the casualty total at 10,000, but a news release from the newly independent government on Dec. 9, 1988, advised that the correct death toll was 110,000. (Turkmenistan had been part of the Soviet Union, which tended to downplay the death tolls from man-made and natural disasters.)

NBC News, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.